Coronary heart disease is the official term for blockage in the arteries of the heart. Damage to the artery inner lining or endothelial cells causes a buildup of plaque. This plaque buildup is the cause of blockage of the blood flow in the artery. If this blockage is great enough, then the blood supply is shut off and the affected heart muscle dies. Our heart muscle is important as this is the “pump” that supplies the body with blood.A similar situation occurs with strokes. The blood supply to those areas of the brain is blocked, thus leading to death of the affected brain cells.Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of mortality (death) in this country. In addition, artery damage also causes great morbidity (illness) as in angina, congestive heart failure, peripheral artery disease, hypertension, strokes, and multiple other problems. What causes this damage and blockage in the arteries? We know that the leading causes of heart disease are obesity, sedentary life styles, diabetes, tobacco, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, and a family history of premature heart disease.How can we prevent heart disease and strokes? We cannot change our family history. But we can stop the use of tobacco, and we can reduce the other four remaining causes of heart disease –obesity, sedentary life styles, diabetes, tobacco, hypertension, elevated cholesterol by having a healthy nutrition, and a regular exercise program. (Future articles will review each of these topics separately).It is very important for everyone to identify their risks for heart disease and to work on reducing those risks. This is one of the very important topics we try to do in an annual preventive health exam. So, see your health provider and get that annual checkup and work on reducing those risks. You and your healthcare provider should identify each of those risks, and set up a program for reducing that risk.